Apparatus for removing toothpicks from beads



May 6, 1952 F. E. CLEARWATER APPARATUS FOR REMOVING TOOTHPICKS FROM BEADS Filed April 29. 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR. l/ea'rwazer A TTORNEYS.

May 6, 1952 F. E. CLEARWATER APPARATUS FOR REMOVING TOOTHPICKS FROM BEADS Filed April 29, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN V EN TOR. JET [Vearwa/ew gm WW ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 6, 1952 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING TOOTHPICKS FROM BEADS Fred E. Clearwater, Providence, R. 1. Application April 29, 1948, Serial No. 24,018

1 Claim. 1

This invention is for an apparatus for removing the so-called toothpicks from beads, employed in holding the beads when placing and drying a coating of pearl essence thereon in making artificial pearls and the like objects.

In making artificial pearls a glass bead is formed at the end portion of a wire which is thereafter severed close to the bead. The wire is next removed by placing the bead in a suitable acid to dissolve the wire, whereby providing an opening in the bead for stringing or otherwise attaching the same in position. The beads are then coated with a so-called pearl essence by dipping the beads in a liquid solution and thereafter drying. The usual practice followed in dipping the beads is to hold each bead at the end of a small sliver of wood, which is pointed at both ends in the fashion of a toothpick and is so called in the trade. One end of the toothpick is forced into the opening of the bead. A large number of such loaded toothpicks are supported upright in spaced relation in a bed of bees wax provided on a plate or board. The beads are clipped or immersed in a liquid containing the essence to a depth only sufficient to cover the same. Aiter the beads have been properly coated they are then dried, the toothpicks with the beads thereon are removed from the plate, and the beads thereafter manually removed from the toothpicks. In removing the beads, the tips of r the fingers of one hand are placed about the toothpick close to the opening in the bead while pulling on the toothpick with the fingers of the other hand. In extracting the toothpicks, the

deposit of the now dry brittle coating which joins the bead to the toothpick is broken and small particles of this brittle coating serve as an abrasive which acts to chaff the tips of the fingers much to the discomfort of the worker.

The general object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus which will operate to remove the beads from the toothpicks and wherein a plurality of beads may be acted upon simultaneously to cause the beads to be discharged from the machine free of the toothpicks.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the apparatus with the upper portion removed;

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken substantially along line iil of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a head attached to the end of a support for holding the beads during the dipping and drying processes.

The invention in general comprises providing a pair of nip rollers mounted for yielding movement to and from each other and a guide for directing the toothpicks between the bite of the rollers to draw the toothpicks from the beads while the beads are held by the guide.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus is shown as being formed with a base In having side frames l I and I2 joined at their upper ends by a front girt I3 and a rear girt [4. The side frames support spaced channel members [5 and It (see Fig. 4) which rest upon the girts at the end portion thereof and may be secured thereto in any approved manner, such as by welding. The side frames are each provided with a foot portion H whereby the base may be attached to a bench or the like. A top wall [8 is secured to the channels I5 and it, such as by welding and is provided with an opening l9 which extends lengthwise of the apparatus. The side frame 12 is of greater height than the frame II, and the top wall It extends from one frame to the other on a slant lengthwise of the machine.

A pair of nip rollers and 2| are mounted beneath the opening [9. The roller 20 (see Fig. 4) has a knurled surface 22 and trunnions 23 and 24 which are journaled in bearings 25 and 26 supported in the channel members l5 and I6 and there secured in place by means of bolts 21 (see Fig. 2). The roller 2| also has a knurled surface 28 and trunnions 29 and 30 at the end thereof, which are journaled in bearing blocks 3| and 32. The trunnion 30 is of greater length than the trunion 29 and extends beyond the bearing block 32 and provides a shaft through which the roller 2! may be rotated. The roller 20 is rotated from the roller 2| by means of a gear wheel 33 attached to the roller 20 and engaging with a gear wheel 34 attached to the roller 2!. Thus, as the roller 2| is rotated, the roller 20 will be likewise rotated but in an opposite direction to draw between the bite 35 thereof toothpicks which are guided thereto.

The bearing blocks 3| and 32 are slidably mounted in the channel members [5 and It for movement to and from bearings 25 and 26 and each is provided with a projection 36 for receiving one end of a compression spring 31. The

other end of the spring 31 engages a movable abutment 38 also provided with a projection 39 for receiving the end portion of the spring. The movable abutments 38 are connected to each other by means of a strap 40'. A threaded member 4| extends through a block 42 fixed in the channel member in line with the movable stop and engages the abutments 38. The turning of this member 4| in the proper direction will adjust the tension of the spring 31 as desired. The member 4| is provided with an enlarged head 43 for convenience in turning the same. Thus, the roller 2| is mounted for yielding movement to and from the roller 29 so as to provide for slight variation in sizes of toothpicks.

In order to guide the toothpicks which are attached to the beads to the bite of the .rollers 20 and 2|, a guide plate or trough 44 is positioned to extend into the opening l9 and is detachably secured to the top wall l8 at the edges of the. opening I9 by means of cap screws 39. The plate is V-shaped in cross section and has a central longitudinal slot 45 therein at the apex of the V and extends substantially the length of the rollers 20 and 2| and substantially in line with the bite thereof. The slot is of a width to prevent the beads from passing therethrough, but to readily permit the toothpicks to extend through the slot to be engaged by the bite of the rollers. Rotation of the rollers 20 and 2| in the proper direction will draw the toothpicks from the beads. The stock about the slot 45 will provide an abutment to be engaged by the beads, while the toothpicks are drawn therefrom. The guide plate 44 is also provided with an opening 46 (see Fig. 3) and a conduit 41 extends therefrom to beyond the side frame I The beads free of the toothpicks will roll down the surface of the guide 44 to be directed by a stop 48 into the opening 46 to pass through the conduit 41 out of the machine into any suitable receptacle which may be placed beneath the conduit to receive the beads. As the toothpicks are withdrawn from the beads, the same will fall upon an inclined chute 49 and be guided from beneath the apparatus where the same may be gathered to be reused or disposed of.

The apparatus also includes a hopper designated generally 56. This hopper is provided with a rear wall side walls 52 and a bottom wall 53. The bottom wall is inclined toward the guide 44. This hopper is secured in position such as by means of an angle iron support 54 attached to the top wall l8 and to the rear wall 52 such as by means of cap screws 55. The hopper is additionally supported in position by means of front braces 56 extending from the bottom wall as at 51 and secured to the front girt l3 such as by cap screws 58.

In the operation of the apparatus the toothpicks with the beads attached thereto are disposed in the hopper and manually agitated by the operator so as to separate and move the beads toward the guide 44 to move the toothpicks thereon through the slot 45, to be engaged by the nip of the rollers 20 and 2| to withdraw the toothpicks from the beads, as previously described.

It has been found desirable to rotate the rollers 20 and 2| at a relatively low speed, and to this end a speed-reducing device 58 is provided. This speed-reducing device, which may be of any approved manufacture, is attached to a power source, such as an electric motor 59. The output shaft 60 of the speed-reducing device is attached to the trunnion 30 of the roller 2| by means of a universal joint connection 6|.

I claim:

An apparatus for removing tooth picks from beads comprising a pair of rollers having their surfaces spaced and their axes in a plane which is inclined to a horizontal, means to rotate said rollers in unison in opposite directions, a trough substantially V-shape in cross section positioned above said rollers and inclined lengthwise sulficient to move Work therealong with a slot at its lowest portion substantially registering with the space between said rollers through which slot tooth picks will pass to be gripped b the rollers and plucked from the beads, said trough also having an opening therethrough of a size to pass beads, said opening being generally aligned with said slot but beyond the lower end thereoflmeans adjacent said opening to direct beads therethrough, and a conduit below and registered with said opening for conveying said beads to a desired location.

FRED E. CLEARWATER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 286,440 Holt Oct. 9, 1883 988,749 Wall Apr. 4, 1911 1,088,116 Wall Feb. 24, 1914 1,393,094 Ditson Oct. 11, 1921 1,400,352 Forry Dec. 13, 1921 1,765,902 Brochett June 24, 1930 2,484,400 Brown Oct. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 806,642 France Sept. 28, 1936 122,629 Germany of 1901 

